A firefighter sprays water on the smoldering base of what remained of a 3,500-year-old cypress at Big Tree Park in Longwood, Fla., on Monday, Jan. 16, 2012. The 118-foot-tall bald cypress tree named "The Senator" collapsed after it caught fire.

By msnbc.com staff and news services

A central Florida woman has been charged with setting a fire that burned one of the world's oldest cypress trees, local media reported.

Investigators said that two witnesses identified 26-year-old Sara Barnes as the person who caused the 118-foot-tall bald cypress tree named "The Senator" to burn and collapse Jan. 16. It was a tourist attraction in central Florida long before Disney World was built.

The Seminole County parks department said the ring samples showed the tree was roughly 3,500 years old.

Authorities said the tree burned quickly after twigs and branches were piled at the base as if someone was starting a campfire.